Trump’s conversion from embracing the Israeli far right’s goal of ethnic cleansing of Gaza to accepting the right of Palestinian civilians to remain was probably driven by a remarkable shift in US attitudes toward Israel. Young Christian evangelicals, a core Maga constituency, had become sickened by Israel’s genocide, which was aimed at inducing the forced deportation that Trump had endorsed with his vision of a Gaza “Riviera”. Always concerned foremost with himself, Trump could see the political costs of the largely unqualified green light that he had given Netanyahu and his quest for endless war. This is something Netanyahu has needed to maintain his governing coalition, and avoid pending corruption charges and a political reckoning for the intelligence failures that Hamas exploited ruthlessly on 7 October 2023.